Previous Thai governments wanted compensation from Indonesia for the cost of housing and treating the 14 apes but the junta government in Bangkok recently waived those demands and pushed ahead with the repatriation.

Indonesia sent a C130 aircraft to collect the animals, who were loaded onto the plane in metal crates.

"The flight has already taken off at around 10:00 am (0300 GMT) from a military airport on the northern outskirts of Bangkok and it will take five hours to arrive in Jakarta," a wildlife official involved in the operation told AFP.

"Special care has been taken to ensure that the orangutans are ready to travel," added Tuenchai Noochdumrong, director of Thailand's Wildlife Conservation Office, in statement.

On January 7, this shaggy little bundle of joy was delivered by Caesarean section at the University of Minnesota Veterinary Medical Center. Her mom is a 27-year-old Sumatran orangutan named Mariska, from the

It was mother Mariska's second required C-section, both of which were performed at the university's medical center. "C-sections are very rare in that there are only about a dozen recorded within the International Orangutan Studbook that has tracked more than 1,200 births in captivity throughout history," said Como Zoo's primate keeper Megan Elder.

She and her mom certainly drew a crowd.
The obstetrical team boasted more than a dozen professionals -- from the disciplines of human and animal neonatal intensive care, human maternal-fetal medicine, veterinary surgery, veterinary anesthesiology, and nutrition.

The newborn should be proud. Her mother Mariska is considered one of the most genetically valuable female Sumatran orangutans in North America and was recommended for breeding by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and the Orangutan Species Survival Plan.

About 200 orangutans are currently on exhibit in zoos throughout the U.S., Como Zoo notes. In the wild, they're found primarily in Sumatra and Borneo.
Orangutan populations have tumbled downward and the species is under the threat of extinction. Commercial logging, agriculture, hunting and poaching all have contributed to the animal's decline.
So it's always happy news when a baby gives a small ray of hope to a species in trouble.